We were lucky to catch up with Andrew Gonzalez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Andrew, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Oooof.

Probably first big risk, was graduating out of college with a degree and not using it at all. Instead I really wanted to start a screenprinting shop. So I did. I hired my friends, and fired my friends. It did well and then not so well. Typical 19-year-old trying to start something behavior. Eventually I needed to close that business because the burnout of 14-hour days was not at all sustainable. All my relationships suffered, and eventually the work dried up from being cooped up in a hot Florida warehouse sweating my ass off printing tees.

So then I took the risk of going back to IT. Totally lied on my resume to get my first real tech job. It was quite the learning curve, and my peers quickly learned how much training I needed. Eventually I became an engineer, and trained jr techs, I made it work so I could eat but I hated every minute of it. I remember having my own office, but really it felt like a prison of my own doing. I wanted a way out.

Then I took a risk on going into advertising. At the time, I was near a lot of people doing that line of work – but never understood exactly what it was. I remember I was at a bar or some sort of social gathering when I heard what a Cannes Lion was. Awards? For doing your job? And you get paid a shit ton? This concept was foreign to me. I went down Youtube rabbit hole, watched every interview, listened to every podcast, trying to make sure it was the “right move”. Until i realized.. fuck it. I could either spend my whole life wondering, or go for it and outwork everyone around me. So i quit my job, went to school, and did the damn thing.

Next thing I know, i’m at school. I meet a ton of fascinating people, and realized I wasn’t so alone with wanting a big life change. I get into one of the hottest ad agencies in Miami, GUT, as one of their very first interns. Not long after, i’m at the shoot for Megan Thee Stallion’s Hottie Sauce, the first ever celebrity meal for Popeyes. I remember thinking, how the flying fuck did i get here? The Hottie Sauce managed to bag Top 5 celebrity meal of the year. Insanity.

So, I don’t know exactly how to define the risk part. Was doing all that a risk? For me, the doing nothing part of it all sounds way scarier to me.

Andrew, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hey what’s good.

I’m Andrew Gonzalez, and I’m a dude with long hair, dumb jokes, 2 cats, and a screenprinting press. I’m a creative director in advertising by day, and when i’m not doing that i’m usually printing some tees in my garage. I love cooking, and I love comedy.

I’ve had a few career switches and false starts in the past, and while some might think making a big change and pivot is a risk – it’s actually way worse to stay in the same shit, doing nothing about things you want to do. I’d like to instill this into my ad students. Any one of them can come of with a brilliant idea for a brand. Lines like, “You’re not you when you’re hungry.” 6 words, worth literal billions. I think that’s insane. But what’s even crazier, is the people that come up with brilliant taglines and ideas are usually no different than you. We all have eyes. We can all observe. Thus, anyone can be a creative that’s capable of shitting out brilliance like this.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I have a strong opinion on this. Be a teacher.

If you’re in job where your creative lead is saying dumb shit like, “it’s just not there yet” or “i’ll know it when I see it” or “keep pushing” or “give me 10 more versions” – without giving clear and concise direction, or offering you help to get there. Do yourself a favor… LEAVE.

I cannot stress enough how important in the creative field it is to create an environment for your teams to constantly get better every day by asking questions, or jumping into photoshop and illustrator with them, and showing that you actually care.

After all, we’re lucky to work in the creative field. You’re sitting in that chair, because someone at some point in your career was nice enough to place you there in their agency, or saw a spark of talent in you. I was lucky to have a lot of mentors that did this for me. So when I see creatives intentionally not passing the creative baton, it’s a mortal sin in my world.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’ve never really admitted this, but i’d like to win a Cannes Lion for my own print shop. The idea is living in my head rent free, and I know I can do it. There’s just something about competing on the global stage of creativity, from my garage.

Contact Info:

• Website: andrewgonzalez.work
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-gonzalez-b4511949/